Personal Statement
Peter Weightman has a history of developing scientific instruments and this has made it possible for him change field a number of times. It can be argued that scientific advances are more often driven by the development of a new tool than by a new concept. Without instruments there would be very little science. He has been particularly fortunate in being able to collaborate with a large number of colleagues in a wide variety of fields of research. These collaborative activities have resulted in a number of awards:-

2020 He is a co-recipient of the UK Institute of Physics Rosalind Franklin Medal and Prize through his membership of the Steering Committee of "The Physics of Life Network". The citation reads "For the contributions made to catalyzing the substantive growth of the Physics of Life community in the UK by stimulating new, adventurous partnerships between multiple researchers in UK biological physics".
2011 The British Vacuum Council Senior Prize and John Yarwood Medal
2006 The Mott Medal and Prize of the UK Institute of Physics "For work on the electronic structure of materials using a variety of laboratory and synchrotron. techniques and for the
development of Auger spectroscopy and reflection anisotropy spectroscopy."
2000 The Riviere Prize of the UK Surface Analysis Forum “For work that has been judged to be of outstanding quality and an important contribution to the application of electron
spectroscopy.”
1990 The Science Prize of the UK ESCA Group "For work summarised in "P. Weightman, Phys. Scr. T25 165 (1989)"

Research Overview
I have had a long and very satisfying research career and I have changed fields a number of times.

I am currently carryout research on the physics of cancer and I am fortunate in being able to work with a number of colleagues in the physics department and in the faculty of health and life sciences on a number of aspects of this disease.

Recent funding from the EPSRC and Cancer Research UK has enable us to develop a machine learning algorithm that makes it possible to predict which oral lesions will progress to oral cancer.